National Treasure
by Namara Jane Knight
Summary: Basically a rewrite of the National Treasure movie using Yu-Gi-Oh! characters with a few changes here and there. *winks* NOT YAOI! Enjoy!
1. Introduction

**Namara: Okay then! Another story! Yeah, I'm an idiot for starting another, I know, I know. But this one I swear in Ra's name I will finish!**

**Ryou: You better.**

**Namara: I will! I promise! This one requires little effort from me to be perfectly honest. It is simply a rewrite, with a few changes here and there, of the National Treasure movie except I am using the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters instead. Well, I'll shut up now and let you all read.**

_**DISCLAIMER: DO I OWN YU-GI-OH! OR NATIONAL TREASURE? HMM…LET ME THINK A SECOND…IF I OWNED YU-GI-OH! OR NATIONAL TREASURE, DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I'D BE ON FANFICTION? *raises an eyebrow questioningly* WELL DO YOU? I THINK NOT! I'D PROBABLY BE CHILLING OUT IN A MANSION IN CALIFORNIA RIGHT NOW IF I DID!  
**_

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_The young boy glanced around the dim and musty attic. He knew he wasn't suppose to be here, or at least, not without his grandfather. However, curiosity had tugged the white-haired child toward the hidden treasure trove in the house. The boy stopped for a moment, and glanced quickly around again and strained his ears for any sound out of the ordinary. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he flicked out the flashlight in his hands and began to creep forward. The floorboards creaked and groaned slightly under the ten-year-old boy's feet. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed outside the windows, only adding to mysteriousness of the situation._

_The boy then shined the beam of light on old wooden bookcase. When the ray hit the top shelf, the child found what he had been looking for. Quickly and quietly, he picked up a stepladder and placed it in front of the shelves, climbed up, and gingerly removed an ancient looking book from the shelf. He blew away the dust and dirt and swept off the cobwebs from the brown, slightly tattered cover. He shined the light on the book, seeing it decorated with small jewels and fancy, offical designs. A grin of triumph spread on his face and a gleam of hungering curiosity flickered in his eyes. He turned, about to descend the ladder back to the floor, but upon turning, came face to face with –_

"_Grandpa!" The young one shouted in fright, his reddish brown eyes wide. He knew he had been caught snooping._

"_You're not supposed to be up here…looking at that." The older man said, nodding slightly at the large book in the child's hands. The man had grey, slightly wavy hair, and kind but firm hazel eyes that were currently giving his grandson a look of disapproval. The lightning flashed outside, illuminating his face, making the old man appear much more threatening._

_The boy ducked his head slightly in shame, "I only wanted to know." He replied timidly. He let his eyes flick up to his grandfather's for a moment, a bit fearful of the consequences of being caught._

_The elderly man sighed before pulling up a worn chair and sitting down. "Well, you're old enough, I suppose. You should know the story."_

_The boy was a bit shocked that he was not going to be reprimanded or punished. He quickly got over the shock however, and pulled up a chair for himself and sat across from his grandfather. His eyes held excitement and anticipation of the long told tale he knew he was about to hear._

_The older man soon began to speak, a spark of excitement and adventure springing into his eyes at the memories of the story and the fact that he was the one telling it this time._

"_Ok, here we go… It was 1832, on a night much like this. Charles Carroll was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a member of a secret society known as the Masons. And he knew he was dying. He woke up his stable boy in the middle of the night and ordered him to take him to the White House to see Andrew Johnson because it was urgent that he speak to the president…"_

_The grandson's eyes were already wide with wonder. He could almost hear the neighing of the horses as they pulled the carriage containing Charles Carroll to the White House. "Did he talk to him?" He eagerly asked._

"_No, he never got the chance. The president wasn't there that night. But Charles Carroll had a secret, so he took into his confidence the one person he could, my grandfather's grandfather, Thomas Gates."_

_The boy quickly asked, "What was his secret?"_

_The grandfather leaned forward and said in a low, hoarse voice, "A treasure…"_

_His grandson's eyes flamed with desire to know more. As he was hanging onto every word, promising himself he would never forget the story._

"… _a treasure beyond all imagining," the grandfather continued after a pause, "A treasure that had been fought over for centuries by tyrants, pharaohs, emperors, warlords! Every time it changed hands it grew larger. And then suddenly…it vanished. It didn't reappear for more than a thousand years when knights from the first crusade discovered secret vaults beneath the temple of Solomon. You see, the knights who found the vaults believed that the treasure was too great for any one man, not even the king. They brought the treasure back to Europe and took the name of the Knights Templar. Over the next century, they smuggled it out of Europe and formed a new brotherhood called the Free Masons in honor of the builders of the great temple. War followed… By the time of the American Revolution, the treasure had been hidden again. By then, the masons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere… They knew they had to make sure the treasure never would fall into the hands of the British. So they devised a series of clues and maps to its location. Over time the clues were lost or forgotten until only one remained. That was the secret that Charles Carroll entrusted to young Thomas Gates."_

_The child was entranced by the story, believing every word, and knowing nothing would ever sway him from believing the legend of this lost treasure. He opened the book in his hands and saw a piece of old parchment tucked into a transparent protector. He gently slid it from its spot and read the slightly faded words._

"…_The secret lies with Charlotte…" his grandfather whispered at the same time as the child read the words._

"_Who's Charlotte?" The boy inquired in an excited but hushed voice. He didn't want to ruin the secretive and mysterious mood._

_With a slight shake of his head, Grandpa answered, "Oh, not even Mr. Carroll knew that," he reached into his pocket and took out a one dollar bill, unfolding it and holding it up, "Now look here Bakura. The free masons among our founding fathers left us clues like these," He tapped the pyramid on the bill with his finger, "The unfinished pyramid, the all-seeing eye, symbols of the Knights Templar, guardians of the treasure. They're speaking to us through these…"_

_Bakura couldn't take his eyes off the bill as he scanned it, especially the all-seeing eye and the unfinished pyramid. However, he jumped slightly when a new voice spoke up._

"_You mean laughing at us. You know what that dollar represents? The entire Gates family fortune, six generations of fools chasing after fool's gold." It was Bakura's father… and Bakura knew this wasn't good. His father hated the legends and stories, and had practically forbidden Bakura from knowing them._

_Grandpa sent an annoyed look at his son, one he had given him many times before, and stood to face him, "It's not about the money Patrick. It's never been about the money!"_

_Bakura looked down slightly, knowing this probably wouldn't end well._

_Patrick looked to his son, "Come on son, time to go… you can say your goodbyes." With a last glance at his father, he turned and strode back down the steps leading to the attic._

_As soon as he was out of earshot, Bakura spoke up, "Grandpa…are we knights?"_

_Grandpa turned back to Bakura, a smile growing on his face again and a small chuckle escaping his throat, "You want to be?"_

_Bakura nodded eagerly and jumped up in excitement._

"_Alright, um, kneel."_

_Bakura immediately knelt, clutching the book he had in his hands to his chest._

_Grandpa draped an old cloak around Bakura's shoulders before stepping back and saying in all seriousness of a real king knighting a man, "Ryou Bakura Gates, you take upon yourself the duty of the Templars, Free Masons, and the family Gates. Do you so swear?"_

_Bakura immediately answered, looking right into his grandfather's eyes as he made his promise, his grandfather's eyes twinkling with pride as Bakura did so, _

"_I so swear."_

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**Namara: All right! First chapter done! Well, more of the intro, but you get what I mean. Ok, a few things I believe I should say; this story does not contain 'Ryou'. Bakura in this story is Yami Bakura, but I am twisting his character a tiny bit, but not too much. He'll still be the awesome Bakura we all know. Also, in terms of his father's name, it is not written anywhere that I have found what Bakura's father's name actually is, so I kept the name used in the National Treasure movie. It makes sense considering Ryou's father is from England and his mother from Japan (at least that's what I read somewhere). In terms of what shippings will be implied in this story…you'll have to wait and see. But I swear there will be no yaoi because is just will not work for this story (and I am not a big fan of it either). If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will try and reply to all reviews either privately or at the end of chapters. I think that's everything that needed to be said.**

**Ryou: So, will you all be so kind as to click on the blue words below and leave us a message? We would greatly appreciate it!**

**Namara: Thanks! Until next time!**


	2. The Charlotte

**Namara: Woohoo! Chapter two! Hey, that rhymed!**

**Ryou: *rolls eyes***

**Namara: Anywho, this is chapter two (another rhyme!). I can't believe how fast I got this up after the other one. I guess it was an understatement when I said it would be little effort on my part. *shrugs* I'm not complaining though. This will probably be the easiest story I ever write. I'll shut up and let you guys enjoy the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: OH. MY. FLIPPING. RA! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! NOT EVEN THE PLOTLINE THIS TIME! GET OFF MY BACK ABOUT IT!**

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Inside the large snowplows were not much warmer than outside. The view for hundreds of miles around was only ice and snow; a frozen wasteland as far as the eye could see. Three men were in the cab of one of the huge machines. Bakura Gates at the wheel, Seto Kaiba in the passenger seat, and Malik Ishtar in the back with a laptop.

Bakura looked glanced out the windows of the vehicle, amazement in his mind of all the history of even such a desolate yet beautiful place, "I was thinking about Hanson and Perry, crossing this kind of terrain with nothing more than dog sleds and on foot. Can you imagine?"

Seto too, glanced around in wonder and shook his head a bit, "It's extraordinary."

A beeping was heard from the back seat. It was Malik's computer signaling something.

"Are we getting closer?" Seto asked.

Malik looked over the screen before replying, "Assuming Bakura's theories are correct and my tracking model's accurate, we should be getting very close. But don't go by me, I broke a shoelace this morning."

The other two men turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, clearly wondering why the hell that mattered at all.

Malik blinked and stuttered slightly, "It's… It's a bad omen."

The other two glanced at each other.

Seto said with a hint of sarcasm, "Should we turn around and go home?"

Bakura rolled his eyes, though it wasn't seen due to his sunglasses, "Or we could just pull over and throw him out here."

Both the older men chuckled at their joke.

Malik gave a short, sarcastic laugh, "OK," he muttered annoyed.

"Malik, you're not missing that windowless cubicle we found you in, are you?" Bakura said mockingly.

With a roll of his eyes that was seen by neither of the others, "Oh no, absolutely not." In truth, the man was from Egypt, and absolutely hated the cold, ice, and snow of the Arctic Circle that he currently found himself in. At that moment, his laptop started beeping urgently.

"Would seem that we're here." Malik said.

Bakura immediately stopped the snowplow, and turned the key, shutting off the engine. He opened the door and stood up, stepping onto one of the huge caterpillar treads and looking around the area before them. On the other side, Seto and Malik were doing the same.

The other vehicle soon was shut off beside them and the doors opened, the group in that snowplow stepping out onto the treads as well. Beside Bakura, the man who had been in the passenger seat of the other machine spoke, "Why are we stopping? I thought we were looking for a ship."

"I don't see any ship." Muttered another man.

"Oh, she's out there." Bakura reassured them.

A few minutes later found the men, seven in all, with metal detectors. They walked, sweeping the devices left to right and back again as they continued forward, listening into the head sets for the sharp sound that would alert them to anything metal beneath them.

A ways away from Bakura, one of the men said to Malik, "This is a waste of time. How could a ship possibly end up way out here?"

Malik resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Well, I'm no expert, but it could be the hydrothermal properties of this region produce hurricane force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze, then melt, then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass that would land a ship somewhere right around here," his voice held the tone of a know-it-all smartass. With that said, Malik began to walk away again, and continue his search with the metal detector.

The other man blinked, obviously not expecting such an answer in such a tone.

Meanwhile, Bakura had continued to search, and came near a small build of snow. It was then the metal detector began to make a noise similar to that of a record being scratched. Bakura froze in place and swept the device back forth before stepping a bit forward and it was then the distinct beeping of found metal reached his ears. Excitement boiled up inside of him. He immediately put the detector down and pulled the headset off. Bakura dropped to his knees and reached behind him and grabbing the pick-ax strapped to his back. He proceeded to dig away the snow with it. The man barely had to clear away two feet of snow build up when the ax hit something that resulted in a loud pang!

Bakura discarded the pick-ax, and swiftly brushed away the rest of the snow with his gloved hands and soon found metal. It was a bell; on this bell, where the words 'Boston Massachusetts'. Bakura pulled his water bottle from inside his coat pocket and poured bit of water on the snow glazed over the other words on the bell. The water washed away the snow to reveal the word 'CHARLOTTE'.

The white-haired man couldn't believe it. After all the searching and research done, he had found the Charlotte!

"Hello beautiful…" He said with wonder. He couldn't help but think of how amazed and proud his grandfather James would have been at this moment. Those same feelings were now swelling in him.

The words written on that old piece of parchment rang in his ears.

…_the secret lies with Charlotte…_

Hardly two hours later and the group of treasure hunters had dug away the snow and ice from the top deck of the Charlotte. Bakura, Malik, Seto and two others were using the pick-axes to clear away any ice blocking the way into the lower decks of the ship, while the last two men were busy clearing away what they could with the snowplows.

Bakura was eventually alongside Seto, "Two years ago, if you hadn't shown up, hadn't believed the treasure was real, I don't know if I ever would have found Charlotte."

Seto answered truthfully, "Oh, you would have found it, I have no doubts of that. That's why I didn't think this was as crazy as an investment as everyone says."

"I'm just glad I'm not as crazy as everyone says," Bakura admitted humorously, "or said my dad was, or my grandfather, or my great-grandfather!"

Seto chuckled a bit in response.

Bakura stood and called out to the others, "OK! Let's go!"

"Let's go find some treasure!" Seto added to boost the already brimming confidence of the group.

Bakura led three of the others, Seto, Malik, and Roland, down into the lower decks, leaving the other three men above with the snowplows.

In the deck below, was obviously the main center of activity on the ship. There were dining tables and chairs or couches around the area, and art, maps, or tapestries long frozen over hanging on the walls. The group shined their flashlights around, examining the furniture and other details of the deck. There were glasses with frozen drink left in them on the table, a cabinet full of dishes against one wall, the glass glazed with ice.

None of these things mattered to Bakura though. He searched around until he found the cellar like doors leading to the next deck down. He called for the others, and grunting with the effort, the four managed to pry the doors apart and fling them open, sending a few icicles flying off as they did so.

The men roved the beams from the flashlights over the ice and snow covered steps. They begin to descend into the darker floor below. Once at the bottom, they began their search again. This deck was obviously the sleeping quarters for the crew.

Malik wandered around the hammocks. He curiously pushed one aside only to come face to face with the frozen body of a crewmember. The man immediately backed up, "Ahh! Oh Ra! Ahh!" In his frightened haste, he slipped on the ice and ended up falling over backwards onto his ass.

Bakura had been standing near the whole time and was giving Malik a 'seriously?' look as the younger man managed to get back onto his feet.

"You handled that well," Bakura said.

Malik gave a half-hearted glare as the older man turned away and began to walk around the quarters.

Bakura soon found a door, sealed shut by hundreds of years beneath snow and ice.

"This is it," he called, "It's the cargo hold!"

He managed to jerk the metal latch up and away. Seto then kicked open the door, breaking the seal that the ice had put on the door and making it swing open. The men stepped inside the hold and shined the lights around. The hold was filled with barrels and crates. However there was a lot more of the former.

"Think it's in the barrels?" Malik asked after taking a good look around.

The four spread out and began to pry open the small barrels. Roland yanked the lid off one, tipping it over accidentally. A black power streamed onto the snow-covered floorboards.

Seto had opened another. He reached in a hand and scooped up some of the ebony grains. Letting it slip through his fingers. He brought some of the power to his nose and lightly sniffed it.

"Gunpowder…" he said loud enough for the others to hear.

Bakura hardly paid the words any mind. He continued to move around the barrels. That is, until he came across the frostbitten and ice hardened body of the ship's captain, who had his arm around a single barrel, his gun in his hand.

Bakura knelt down and muttered to himself, "Now why would the captain be guarding this barrel…?" The man gently began to pry the captain's stiff fingers from the gun and barrel, the entire time mentally apologizing for disturbing the man's resting place. He soon moved the gun and the hands of dead sailor and opened the barrel. He poured some of the gunpowder out and saw the end of a parcel wrapped in tan cloth and tied with a green ribbon. He pulled the item from the barrel, "I've found something!" he yelled. Bakura then stood and took the parcel to one of the crates and set it down, the other three gathering around to see.

"What is it?" Malik asked.

No one spoke again as Bakura untied the ribbon and unfolded the cloth and reveal a dark colored wooden box with gold engravings in each third of the lid: an eagle in the center, Native Americans on the right, and English settlers on the left. Bakura and Seto glanced at each other, exchanging excited nods before Bakura opened the lid to reveal a bone white pipe in the shape of some sort of castle tower and men with swords and flags and one on horseback nestled in a blue velvet impression.

Bakura gingerly picked up the pipe and turned it over and examined it.

"Do you guys know what this is?" He asked.

"Is it a billion dollar pipe?" Malik questioned rather dumbly.

Bakura held it out to Seto who took it with a grin and looked it over, "It's a Meerschaum Pipe." He turned it over and around. He breathed out in awe, "Oh, it's beautiful…"

"Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem." Bakura said, pointing to stem of the pipe as he did so."

Seto nodded as he looked over the detail of the pipe.

"Is it a…million dollar pipe?" Malik tried again even more stupidly this time.

Bakura however, paid it no mind if he noticed, "No, it's a clue," he answered, looking to Malik. He then looked to Seto, "Let me see that." He practically whispered as he took the pipe back.

The white-haired man then pulled the stem from the decorative end of the pipe.

"What? Don't break it!" Malik exclaimed, only to be ignored.

"We are one step closer to the treasure, gentlemen." Bakura said proudly.

Seto frowned a bit at that, "Bakura, I thought you said the treasure would be on the Charlotte."

"No," Bakura answered, "the secret lies with Charlotte. I said it _could_ be here." The man then turned the pipe stem around again before pulling out his pocket knife and pressing the tip of the extremely sharp blade to the tip of his thumb, cutting himself and drawing a good bit of blood (Malik winced as he did so). He pulled a notebook from his pocket and spread the blood onto the pipe stem. After doing so, he rolled the stem down the paper, revealing the writing and symbols that had been engraved in the ivory colored stem.

"These are Templar symbols," he said. He then read the words aloud.

"_The legend writ,_

_The stain affected,_

_The key in silence undetected._

_Fifty-five in iron pen,_

_Mr. Matlack can't offend."_

Bakura's eyes darted left to right, as though looking through words and pictures only he could see, "It's a riddle… I need to think." With that, he began to pace around the cargo hold, muttering to himself only just loud enough for the others to hear, "The legend writ…the stain affected… What legend? There is the legend of the Templar treasure…the stain affects the legend… How? The key in silence undetected… Wait! The legend, the key… Well, there's something. A map. Maps have legends, maps have keys. It's a map, an invisible map. So now –"

Seto interrupted his mutterings in a rather disbelieving voice, "Wait a minute. What do you mean _invisible_?" An invisible map?"

As Bakura began to explain, Seto came to sit on a barrel a few feet away.

"The stain affected could refer to a dye or reagent used to bring about a certain result, combined with the key in silence undetected. The implication is to make what was undetectable detectable. Unless the key in silence could be –"

He was once again cut off as Roland said, "Prison."

Malik obviously didn't get the reasoning behind Roland's word and randomly said, "Albuquerque, see I can do it to. Snorkel."

Roland gave Malik a very annoyed look coupled with a roll of his eyes, "It's where the map is. Like you said, fifty-five in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison."

Bakura shook his head slightly, "Or it could be the primary writing medium of the time Iron Gull Ink. The pen is…just a pen," the man's thoughts tumbled around in his mind trying to figure out this riddle, "But then why not say pen…why say iron pen?"

"Because it's a prison," Roland muttered a bit put out that his theory had been shot down.

Meanwhile, the leader of their group continued to speak his thoughts aloud, "Wait, Iron Pen… The ink does not describe what was in the pen, it describes what was penned!" he began to list several adjectives as to what it may mean, "It was iron, it was firm, it was mineral… no, no, no, no… It was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved… it was resolved," realization was becoming clear in Bakura's voice, "Mr. Matlack can't offend… Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the Continental Congress. Calligrapher, not writer," Bakura stood form his spot, his enthusiasm making him restless, "And to make sure that he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a _resolution_ that he transcribed. A _resolution _that fifty-five men signed…"

By this time, every one of them knew what this resolution was. It was one of the most important documents ever to be written.

"The Declaration of Independence."

Seto was the first to let out a breath of surprise and amazement. Roland soon following with a chuckle of relief that the riddle had been figured out. Malik however was a bit more skeptical.

"Come on, there is no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence!"

Malik was ignored yet again though as Seto said, "It's clever really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said there were several Masons that signed it, yeah?"

Bakura nodded, "Yeah, nine for sure."

Seto smirked, "Well, we'll have to arrange a way to examine it."

The white-haired man gave his brunette partner a disbelieving look, "This is one of the most important documents in history. They aren't just going to let us waltz in and run chemical tests on it."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"I don't know!" Bakura shot right back, making everyone fall silent for a few moments before it was broken again.

"We could borrow it…"

"Steal it? I don't think so."

"Bakura, the treasure of the Knights Templar is the treasure of all treasures!"

"Oh, really, I didn't know that," he said in a smartass tone, sitting back down.

Seto sighed, "Look Bakura, I understand your bitterness, I really do. You've spent your entire life searching for this treasure only to have the historical community treat your family with mockery and contempt. You should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces, and I want you to have the chance to do that."

"How?"

"We all have our…areas of expertise. You don't think mine is limited to writing checks. In another life…I arranged a number of operations of…questionable legality…"

Roland had moved to stand by Seto, "I'd take his word for it if I were you."

Seto sighed, "So don't worry, I'll make all the arrangements."

Bakura could not believe what he had just heard, it took him a few seconds to process the words.

"No," he said, standing again.

Seto stood as well, an unreadable expression on his face, "I really need your help here," he said, trying to sway Bakura to his way of thinking.

"Seto," Bakura's voice started soft before escalating in volume a bit, "I am not going to let you steal the Declaration of Independence!"

The brunette's eyes became cold and cruel and his voice had a resolved tone to it as he said, "Very well from this point then, all you'll be is a hindrance."

As Seto walked around behind him, Roland immediately pulled a pistol from his belt and pointed the weapon at Bakura who barely even flinched.

"Hey!" Malik shouted in surprise. He obviously had not been expecting something like this.

Bakura gave a small snort of amusement and his voice held a mocking tone of questioning, "What are you going to do? You going to shoot me Roland?"

Said man had a sadistically amused glint in his eyes.

Bakura's voice turned serious, "Well, you can't shoot me. There's more to the riddle," Seto looked up in surprise and fixed his cruel yet curious gaze on his former partner as he continued, "Information you don't have. I do. And I'm the only one who can figure it out and you know that."

Roland began to look a bit uneasy, "He's bluffing."

"We played poker together, Seto, you know I can't bluff."

"Tell me what I need to know, Bakura, or I'll shoot your friend." As the newly found antagonist said this, his right hand man turned the pistol in Malik's direction.

"Hey!" Malik exclaimed in fright as he tried to hide behind some useless ropes as if they would block a bullet.

"Quiet Malik!" Seto snapped, "Your job's finished here!"

Bakura knew he had to think of something and think of it fast. He went through every option he could think of and none of them were sounding very pleasurable. It was then he remembered the flare in his belt. He immediately reached for it, yanking it free and striking the flare against a barrel, igniting it.

Seto's head whipped around at the hiss of the sparks and the glow of the flame. His was now wary and cautious, and honestly afraid of what Bakura would do. Many had called the man crazy.

Roland had instantly switched his aim to Bakura again, fear evident in his eyes, too.

"Look where you're standing."

Seto and Roland both glanced down at their feet, shifting nervously making the snow and ice crunch under their feet. Their eyes widened slightly at the sight of the black powder spilled across most of the floor from the barrels they had broken open before.

"All that gunpowder," Bakura continued, "You shoot me, I drop this," he held the flare up a bit higher for emphasis, "We all go up."

"Bakura…" Malik called in a warning tone, he wasn't sure if the white-haired man would carry out his threat or not, and quite frankly, didn't want to find out.

"What happens when the flare burns down?" Seto said carefully.

Bakura gulped, having not really thought that far ahead.

"Tell me what I need to know Bakura."

What Bakura did next was probably one of his more insane ideas, "You need to know…if Roland can catch!" He threw the flare forward, low to the ground. Around him, Malik and Roland both tensed. Malik squeezed his eyes shut knowing he couldn't even hope to reach the flare and Roland knowing he couldn't drop the gun to catch it. They were both relieved however, when Seto reached out and snatched the flare from the air. Malik cracked open an eye to see what happened, having not heard the gunpowder begin to ignite.

Seto chuckled hollowly, "Nice try Bakura." He waved the flare mockingly at his former partner, only to have his words backfire when a few sparks caught Seto's jacket on fire. He yelled in surprise and dropped the flare, trying to beat out the flames on his arm. It was only then did he realize what he had done. The flare hit the ground and the gunpowder ignited, flames leaping into the air and beginning to crawl along the floor.

Seto and Roland both backed up, Roland firing a few shots from the pistol trying to kill or injure Malik and/or Bakura, before turning and making a run for the door.

"GET OUT ROLAND!" Seto yelled. He locked eyes with Bakura, who had dove behind a stack of crates. The two men kept eye contact, both silently telling the other 'Wish it didn't have to end this way, but next time meet, we'll be enemies'. Then, the fire spread to the beams above their heads, two of the falling and nearly hitting Seto. The brunette yelled again in surprise before backing up and slamming the door closed, ramming the latch down, trapping the other two in the cargo hold, before he and Roland hauled ass out of the ship, yelling for the other three men to start the snowplows.

Meanwhile, more beams were falling. Bakura leaped to his feet, and began to stomp on the floor until he heard a hollow PANG!

"MALIK!" he yelled over the roar of the flames.

The younger man had fallen behind some of the barrels, but upon hearing Bakura's call, scrambled to his feet.

"GET OVER HERE!" Bakura shouted at seeing his friend.

The Egyptian didn't have to be told twice. He ran to where Bakura was. The white-haired man bent down and yanked open a hatch in the floor.

Malik yelled and jumped back as more flaming beams fell, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"SMUGGLER'S HOLD! GET IN!" Bakura then shoved Malik into the hole in the floor, soon following and closing the hatch behind them. Bakura swiftly led Malik deeper into the hold and soon found a place they could try and shelter from the blast. He opened the old crate and shoved Malik in before squeezing in next to him and pulling the lid shut.

The men above only just managed to get out of range of the blast before the flames reached the enormous stack of barrels filled to the brim with gunpowder, and the entire Charlotte exploded in in a spectacular display of smoke, ask, fire, and debris, a deafening boom to go along with it. Wood and ash and ropes rained down on the snowy ground.

The men drove a bit farther from the wreckage before bringing the snowplows to a halt. Seto opened his door and stood on the caterpillar treads, watching as the last bits of the ship fell to the ground and the smoke curled into the sky. The Charlotte was no more. The brunette swallowed hard, knowing he had just watched two people that he had once considered partners, friends even, go up in smoke. He knew he couldn't dwell on it though. Besides, they would have only been extra baggage. With that last thought, he sat back in his seat and closed the door.

Roland had been having similar thoughts as Seto but knew the same.

"Ok, let's go. Before someone sees the smoke." Seto ordered.

With that, the remaining five men drove away from the sight of the wrecked ship and what they assumed was the tomb of two partners.

Little did that group know that not two seconds after they drove away, Bakura and Malik emerged, perfectly fine, from the wreckage. Both were coughing from the smoke in the air and shivering from the snow that had gotten into their coats and boots, but they were otherwise all right. The two stood, brushing the snow off them the best they could, and climbed out of the charred remains of the Charlotte.

Bakura looked around the frozen land and then down at his GPS.

"There's an Inuit village about nine miles east of here. It's popular with bush pilots," he said.

"Alright," Malik answered, still gasping for air, "Then what are we going to do?"

Bakura began to walk toward the east as he answered, "We start making our way back home."

Malik scrambled to follow him, "No, I meant about Seto. He's going to steal the Declaration of Independence, Bakura!"

The other man paused and turned to face him.

"We stop him."

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**Namara: So, there's that chapter done! I think this is the fastest I have ever gotten a next chapter up for anything! I would love it if you all told me how I'm doing so far! If there is anything you think I should change or add, please tell me. I accept constructive criticism (though I love compliments!). If you have any ideas of where other Yu-Gi-Oh! characters would fit into the story, please tell me! I will reply to all reviews!**

**Ryou: So, click the little blue words and leave us a review please!**

**Namara: We would greatly appreciate it!**


	3. The Decision

**Namara: Dang, I'm getting these chapters up pretty fast! I am proud of myself! *puts hands on hips and holds head high proudly***

**Ryou, Téa: *glance at each other with raised eyebrows***

**Namara: *relaxes again* Anyway, here's the third update of this story! By the way, I don't think a lot of people know that there is even a crossover section for National Treasure and Yu-Gi-Oh! so could you all be so kind as to tell your friends about this? I would greatly appreciate it if you did! Thanks! I'll shut up now and let you all read!**

**DISCLAIMER: OK, THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. I. DO. **_**NOT. **_**OWN. YU-GI-OH! **_**OR **_**NATIONAL TREASURE! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEADS!**

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After trekking over nine miles to the Inuit village, Bakura and Malik had found a bush pilot to fly them back to civilization and from there found a way to get to Washington D.C. Capital of the United States of America and home to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Building, The White House, The Smithsonian, Secret Service, and the one document the duo was trying to protect…the Declaration of Independence.

Instead of trying to come up with some reckless way to head off Seto, Roland, and their accomplices, Malik had suggested they go to the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI. However, neither organization believed their words when they gave them the tip off of Seto's plan.

Malik was extremely annoyed, more so than Bakura, "Is it really so hard to believe that someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence?" he practically whined as the pair left the FBI headquarters.

"The FBI gets ten thousand tips a week; they aren't going to worry about something they are sure is safe," Bakura answered, clearly a bit put out as well.

Malik growled under his breath, "Buy anyone who can do anything is going to think we're crazy; anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't going to want to help!"

"We don't need crazy," the white-haired man said, "Go one step short of crazy and what do ya get?"

Malik blinked, "Obsessed."

"Passionate," the other snapped, slightly offended by Malik's callous reply.

With that said, Bakura turned and began the walk to the National Archives building.

Malik shook his head at his partner. Sometimes he really did wonder about the albino. Seeing he was not being waited for, the blonde Egyptian hurried to catch up to his friend.

…~~~…

Upon reaching the National Archives, Bakura immediately went to the secretary and requested a meeting with whoever was in charge, explaining it was urgent. After a few questions, the secretary called.

After hanging up the phone she said, "Dr. Gardner will see you in a few minutes. Have a seat." She motioned toward the chairs in the room.

"Thank you," Bakura said politely, trying to stay on these peoples' good sides. He took a seat, Malik sitting to his right.

They sat for about ten minutes before Bakura spotted something on a small wooden table next to Malik. Reaching over his friend, he grabbed one of the pamphlets on the table and opened it.

"_National Archives Gala"_

The young man read over the brief description, Malik looking over his shoulder, already planning to go see the document he and Malik were so concerned about.

Just then, the door to secretary's office opened and the woman poked her head out of the door, "Dr. Gardner will see you now, Mr. Brown," she said kindly and pointed them to the open door just down the hall.

"Thank you." Bakura and Malik stood and began toward the door.

"Mr. Brown?" Malik whispered in question.

"Family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community," was the simple answer.

"Huh…being kept down by the man…" Malik trailed off as they walked into the large office, seeing a woman behind the desk finishing a phone call, "…A very cute man…" he finished lamely as the woman put down the phone.

She had shoulder length brown hair and intelligent blue eyes and fair skin. She smiled at them as they entered and stood from her seat, coming around the desk to greet them.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen."

"Hi…" Malik mumbled stupidly.

The woman held out a hand to Bakura, "Téa Gardner."

Bakura shook her hand, "Paul Brown."

Téa then shook Malik's hand, "Bill," he introduced himself as, not knowing whether or not his real name was ok to give, so he copied his partner.

"Nice to meet you, Bill," she said kindly, "How may I help you two?"

Bakura knew he had to try and get on this woman's good side, at least so she would listen unlike to the many officials before her. He decided it was best to stall a bit and have a bit of friendly talk before getting to business, "Your accent…Chinese?"

"Japanese," she corrected, with a small smile, very used to people confusing the accent.

Bakura nodded with a small 'oh', a very slight blush on his face at getting that wrong.

"You're not American?" Malik asked a bit rudely.

"Oh, I am an American, I just wasn't born here," she looked up to where Bakura had gone to the mantle of the decorative fireplace and was reaching out toward an case, "Please don't touch that," she called.

Bakura pulled his hand away, "Sorry. Neat collection," he said, nodding toward the collection of what seemed like large buttons, "George Washington's campaign buttons," he looked back at the case, "You're missing the 1789 inaugural though… I found one once," he added as an after thought.

"Well, that's very fortunate for you," Téa said, her tone holding a very slight amount of annoyance, catching onto his attempt to stall, "Now, you told my secretary this was an urgent matter?"

Bakura looked back around and came back to the desk, "Ah, yes ma'am," he sat down in one of the chairs across her desk, Malik sitting next to him and Téa already seated in her own chair, "Well, I'm going to get straight to the point," the woman gave an expectant smile, "Someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence," Bakura stated, looking Téa right in the eyes as he said it with all seriousness.

The reaction was a bit delayed, as though the woman hadn't quite heard the words. A disbelieving look came to her face, her smile fading. She didn't say a word, she only looked back and forth from the two with an expression clearly stating she thought they were insane.

"It's true," Malik piped up to break the silence.

Téa glanced down, blinking rapidly as she processed what was said. She looked back up and shook her head slightly, "I think I need to put you boys in touch with the FBI –"

"We've been to the FBI." Bakura interrupted her.

"And…?"

"They assured that the Declaration could not possibly be stolen," the Egyptian muttered with a slight roll of his eyes.

"They're right."

"My friend and I are less certain," Bakura continued, "However, if we were given the privilege of examining the document," Téa's look became suspicious then, "we would be able to tell you for certain if it were in any danger."

Téa asked the next question in the tone one may use to a child who had done something rather dumb for some even dumber reason, "And what do you think you're going to find?"

"We believe there is an…" Bakura paused for a moment, searching for the right words so as not to make the woman really think they were crazy, "...an encryption on the back…"

"And encryption? Like a code?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Of what?"

Bakura chose his next words carefully as well, "Uh, a cartograph."

"A map?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." He answered with a nod.

"A map of what?" she asked, clearly not believing them, but curious to see what else they could come up with.

"The location of…" Bakura cleared his throat, "…of hidden items of…historic and…intrinsic value…"

Téa shook her head slightly in disbelief, "A treasure map?"

"That's where we lost the FBI," Malik said, earning an unsurprised glance from Téa.

The woman's eyes went back and forth a couple times between the two men, "You're treasure hunters, aren't you?"

"We're more like treasure protectors," Bakura said quickly.

Téa focused her attention on him again, her eyes holding a tiny amount of amusement at their story, "Mr. Brown, I have _personally_ seen the back of the Declaration of Independence and I promise you the only thing there is a notation that reads 'Declaration of Independence dated –"

"…Dated 4 of July 1776'. Yes ma'am." Bakura finished for her.

"But no map," she insisted.

The three fell into silence, Bakura slowly shook his head, really not wanting to have to say the next part. He and Malik glanced at each other, the latter shook his head to himself not wanting to say the next bit either.

Bakura sighed, really not wanting to let the next words out, "…It's invisible…" he said finally, inwardly cringing at what he knew was most likely coming next.

"Oh…right…" Téa said slowly, mockery coloring her voice.

"And that's where we lost the Department of Homeland Security…" muttered Malik.

"And what led you to assume there is this 'invisible map'?"

Both Malik and Bakura looked up in surprise that she even asked another question, having been expecting her to kick them out.

"We found an engraving on the back of a 200 year old pipe," the white-haired man answered immediately, hoping beyond all hope that maybe, just maybe they could get Téa to listen.

"Owned by Free Masons," Malik added, though it didn't help much considering Téa probably had no clue as to what that meant.

"May I see the pipe?"

With that, the wave of failure crashed back over Bakura's head as he glanced at Malik.

"We don't have it…" Malik said hesitantly. _'By Ra, she probably thinks we're idiots with overly active imaginations by now!' _he thought to himself.

Téa leaned forward and said in a low voice, as though she was telling some big secret, "Did bigfoot take it?" Her eyes flashed with mockery and amusement.

With that, Bakura knew they had lost any belief she had once had in them and stood from his seat, "It was nice meeting you," he said as he turned to go, Malik jumping up to follow.

Téa stood and watched them start to go with amused eyes, "Nice meeting you, too," she replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Bakura looked over at the collection of campaign buttons one last time. He nodded toward it, "That really is a nice collection. Must have taken you a long time to hunt down all that history…" With that, he left the office, Malik at his heels, hoping the woman had understood the underlying message in his last words.

Téa actually gave a small proud smile at his words as he left, glancing at her collection with pride in her eyes.

After leaving the office, Bakura led Malik to the show room of the National Archive building, walking straight to where the Declaration of Independence was on display.

"If it's any consolation, you had me convinced," Malik said.

"It's not," Bakura said simply.

Malik totally ignored the statement, "You know, I was thinking, what if we went public? Flash this story all over the Internet? It's not like we have our reputations to worry about. Although, I don't think it's exactly going to scare Seto away…" he said as they stopped in front of the glass case that the Declaration proudly rested in.

Bakura didn't seem to hear a word his partner said, he was gazing longingly at the document under the glass that magnificently stared back.

"A hundred and eighty years of searching and I'm three feet away…" he said quietly, more to himself than anything. He then spoke again after a moment's pause, "Of all the ideas that became the United States, there is a line that is at the heart of all the others," he then continued, not even reading from the document, merely looking at where the words were written in the two hundred year old ink, "But when a long train of abuses and years of patience perusing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security…" Bakura sighed, sounding almost as though he was choked up, "People don't talk that way anymore…" he said quietly.

The whole time Malik stood by, nodding slowly, "Beautiful…uh...I have no idea what you just said."

"It means," Bakura said, "if something is wrong, those that have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action."

The blonde gave a small 'oh' of understanding.

Bakura continued to gaze at the Declaration for a few more long moments before slowly and slightly shaking his head, "I'm going to steal it…" he said quietly.

Malik blinked, not knowing if he heard right before giving a short laugh, "Wait…what?" he said, now really concerned for the sanity of his friend.

"I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence," Bakura said with more certainty before turning and beginning to walk away.

Malik stood there for a moment, chuckling again, thinking it was joke. But then cleared his throat, realizing it was no joke, and quickly turned and jogged to catch up to his partner, "Uh…Bakura!" he called, now extremely worried for both his friend's safety and sanity.

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**Namara: *chuckling* He's decided to steal it! Now there's the thief king we all know and love! **

**Ryou: Bakura, if you read this, I swear, if you EVER even THINK of actually trying this, I may just have to kill you. *said with full seriousness***

**Namara: Eh, let 'im try! I'd love to see if it could actually be done!**

**Ryou, Téa: NAMARA!**

**Namara: Kidding! Kidding! Geez, lighten up. *rolls eyes* Anyway, click the blue words and leave us a message please. Tell me if I am wasting my time or not! Love you all! (I spend too much time with Rosie and Icepool…hehe…JK)**


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